For everyone that truly cares about this country, this issue transcends party lines. And the blunders and flawed ideologies are not exclusive to any one party or administration. My father, who was a conservative man in most regards, almost to the point of being a martinet, once told me that the greatest way to predict future behavior is to look at past behavior. If we look at the record and compare the two most recent administrations we see a startling contrast on this issue. During 8 years of Bill Clinton, 23 million jobs were created and the growth of government was held in check. During 8 years of George Bush 5.8 million jobs were created and federal employment skyrocketed. It should be noted that the Clinton administration is credited with the longest period of peace-time expansion in American history. And I hope the pundits will forgive me for not including the jobs created in India, Bangladesh, Panama, and Mexico during the Bush administration in the numbers.
The lives of most Americans are engrossed in family, friends, avocations and jobs, if they're lucky enough to have one. This makes it difficult for the average person to become a truly discerning voter. I hope that an issue that so deeply impacts the lives of people changes this.
Politicians are essentially "vote getters". Some enter politics with good intentions and find they must make compromises to bring about positive change. Others enter politics for wealth and power, that is to enrich their constituents. For most it is a career. Our recent presidential election had "mavericks and outsiders", playing on the public's disdain for the Bush administration. In actuality the race was between a young politician with limited experience, hence he wasn't beholden (much) to special interests, and a career politician; and a career politician, that claimed he was a maverick, and a nincompoop, that governed a state small in population and large in black gold.
In the State of Florida, we have a true outsider running for office and his campaign and ideas are truly refreshing. A candidate of this caliber does not come along often. I would not call him a maverick because he is not bucking anything. He is focused and his vision is beyond the muck. His policies are concrete and make sense. He understands that the future of middle class American depends on nurturing small businesses in Florida, and across the country. Like our Founding Fathers, he also believes in freedom and justice for all. Jeff Greene represents a real opportunity to get Florida going in the right direction and, at the same time, serve as an example for the rest of our troubled country.
